The Value of Friendship
by Little Lady Kunimitsu
Summary: Tira runs away from Nightmare and the cursed city of Ostrheinsburg. But when she meets an unlikely ally, she learns something about herself. Rated M for violence, language, blood and gore. I suck at summaries....
1. Moon's Silver Smile

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Soul Calibur. Namco does!

A/N:I know, I usually write funny stories. This time, I think it's ready for me to stretch my serious muscle. This takes place during the events of SCIV.

* * *

The full moon was smiling it's silver smile down on the earth below. Dark clouds were gathering nearer and nearer to the moon, signaling that a storm is brewing. A lone figure ,with a bizzare circular shaped weapon resting on her shoulder, was making it's way slowly through the forest below the moon. The figure's head was looking down at the ground and her legs was just barely able to keep her from collapsing.

It has been over three days since Tira left her master, Nightmare, and her castle home. For reasons unbeknownst to even her, she left the castle in Ostrheinsburg and ventured outside the cursed city. Both her personalities had no idea why they left or where they were going now.

It has been two days since she has even seen a source of food. Only on the day that she left, she had caught and ate a rabbit. The rabbit she caught was a pitiful size and hardly satisfied her hunger. There were a few water sources that quenched her thrist. The pain of hunger, though, was sharp and would have to rest very soon.

The wind began to pick up as more clouds gathered around the moon. Tira stopped and looked up the moon. A small, skinny cloud was just covering a tiny portion of the silver rock but larger clouds were blocking out the stars.

_'Damn...Just what we need, a storm," the Gloomy Side growled._

_'Oh, I hope it doesn't,' the Jolly Side said_.

Tira continued to walk slowly. After taking one step, her legs gave way and she fell onto her knees. She stayed still for several moments, taking deep breaths. Tira crawled over to the nearest tree. She rested her back on the tree and tilted her head back. She closed her eyes and she felt a lot calmer than she has been lately.

Then, something was rustling in a nearby bush. Tira instantly got her weapon ready and got up into her fighting position.

"Who's there?" she asked in her Jolly Side tone.

Nothing answered. The bush had stopped shaking but she wasn't ready to let her guard down. Other bushes began to shake as well as the first bush. Tira was getting impatient.

"I know someone's there. Show yourself!" she snapped in her Gloomy Side.

"Well...I guess the little girl found us out," a voice called out.

Four men walked out and stood several feet away from Tira. Each of the men had the same black outfits with hoods over their head to hide their identity. Each man had their own weapon. The man in the far left had a katana. The man next to him had a two kunai knives, one in each hand. The man on the far right had a sickle. The man next to the man on the right had dual tonfa blades. Each weapon looked as sharp as the blade could possibly be. Even though she was out numbered, Tira was not afraid to go out without a fight.

"Leave me alone," Tira growled.

"Wow...this girl has some fight in her!" The man with the tonfa blades said.

"I say let's bring back with us," The man with the katana suggested.

"I agree. It'll be fun to have a girl around," the man with the sickle said with a sadistic smile.

The one with the katana moved in on Tira. He reached his arms out, as if to grab Tira. Before he was able to touch her, Tira slashed his left eye with her Ring Blade. The man retreated back. He placed a hand on his injured eye and was screaming pain. Blood dripped down his face and down the hand he was using to cover the bad eye.

"Ah!" he cried. "That bitch just cut me!"

"Ooo..."the one with the kunai said curling his lips into an evil smile. "This will be more funner than I thought!"

The kunai man disappeared into the shadows. The one with the sickle jumped into a tree while tonfa man helped his wounded comrade by disappearing into the shadows, as well. Tira was on high guard. She had no idea where her enemies were and did not know when they will or if they attack.

"Little girl..." someone whispered in her ear.

Tira's eyes went wide as she felt a strong wrap around her waist and cold steel near her neck. She felt and heard heavy breathing on the back of her neck. She looked at the blade that was near her. It was a kunai knife.

"You really should be keep an eye on your back," Kunai man said into her ear.

"Shut up..." Tira growled.

She quickly turned her head to the side and bit the hand that was near her neck. The man yelped and let go of her. But, as he drew the the hand the kunai was in, he slashed Tira's left arm. Tira bit her bottom lip, backed away and placed her hand on the fresh wound. It was on the bicep. The cut was not very deep but it stung like hell.

"You have a lot of nerve to bite me and slash my comrade," the Kunai man growled.

Tira quickly took her hand off her wound and got into her fighting stance. The man with kunai got into his fighting postition. His comrades, minus the one with the cut on his eye, join around the one with the kunai knives. Clearly, Tira was out numbered by two. Since she hadn't eaten anything in two days, the battle, she guessed, would be even more difficult.

The man with the tonfa blades ran up to her and tried to knock her over by swiping her ankles. Tira dodged that attack easily by jumping up into the air. She retaliated by slashing her opponent while she was in th air, but he was fast and was able to dodge it by move off the the side. As Tira landed back on the ground, Tonfa man used one of his tonfas and slashed at Tira's stomach. He got her and a scarlet line appeared on her stomach. She placed an arm over the wound and bit her lip, trying to show that she was in no pain. In no time, her arm turned red and it dripped down her body.

_'Dammit! We can't fight like this! We must retreat!' the Gloomy Side suggested._

_'But then that will show those people that we're weak. We must continue to fight until one of us falls.' the Jolly Side argued_.

As her two sides argued, she blocked her enemies attacks, while still covering her injury on her belly. Now, all of the enemies were attacking her. When the one with the sickle gave her a nasty cut on her leg, she decided to flee.

The moon was now covered by clouds. Rain was pouring and quick bolts of lightning flashed with loud booms of thunder following shortly after. Tira was running blindly through the woods, narrowly missing trees and tripping over herself. She could sense her enemies were still following her. She was suprised when she sensed the man who's eye she severly injured was following as well. Must be trying to get even with me after I made him blind in one eye...no matter, I'll blind the other one. she told hereself.

Lightning flashed and Tira stopped running. She stopped and couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was a dead end. Tall rocks, as far as the eye could see, were in the way. The rocks looked climbable, but since it was raining, the rocks would be to slippery to grip.

The rain was starting to lighten up, but the winds were getting stronger. Tira's crazy raven colored bangs were plastered to her face. Her clothes were clinging to her body. The blood stains remained on her body, giving her normally pale skin color a pinkish tone.

Tira heard footsteps behind her and they were getting stronger. She turned around and saw her four attackers right ahead of her.

"Can't you morons ever leave me alone?" she growled as she got into the Gloomy fighting stance.

"Why would we leave you alone?" the man with the tonfa blades asked.

"We just want to have fun," the sickle guy sneered.

"Either you come with us or we kill you," kunai man said.

"I'd rather kill her right now. I want revenge for what she did to my eye," the man with the katana snarled

The man with the sickle sighed. "Fine, we'll kill her after we bring back with us."

The other three nodded and the group walked around Tira. She looked for an opening, any opening so she could flee. There was none, the men cut them all off as they got closer to her. The wound on her stomach stung. The pain was horrible and Tira fell to her knees, biting her lip. She was looking at the ground, her arm over the wound. She moaned in pain.

"This'll be easier than I thought."

It was the voice of the katana man. Tira looked up. The rain stopped and the clouds were backing away from the moon. The wind was still blowing strongly though.

The man with the katana was standing over Tira, with the handle of his blade over her head. She knew that this was it, he was going to knock her out and she would lose.

Just as the man was about to strike her with the handle, a sharp yowl pireced the air. The man with the katana stopped his attack, the handle just an inch or two away from Tira's skull. Everyone looked around for what made the noise. There was nothing.

"What the fuck was that?" asked the man with the tonfas.

Then, their was a high pitched shreik. The three standing away from the man with the katana and Tira got their weapons ready.

"Show yourself!" yelled the man with the sickle.

_Tap-tap..._

The men looked up at the rocks that Tira's back was facing. The men couldn't beileve their eyes. Tira looked behind to see what was there.

On top of the tallest rock was a cat. The full moon shone down on the creature. The cat had beautiful, slick black fur. Since the cat was high up, Tira couldn't see anymore details of the cat.

"Just a cat? Ha! Looks like we're going to get two pets!" sneered the man with the tonfa blades.

That comment made the black cat's fur stand up. The cat made a great leap and landed in front of Tira. It's tail was poffed up and the fur on it's back was standing on end.

"Look!" the man with the sickle laughed. "That dumb cat is trying to protect the little girl!"

The cat turned it's head to left and looked at Tira. Tira looked at the cat's pale blue eyes and were mesmerized by the unusual coloring. She didn't even noticed the scar that was on the eye. The cat looked as if it had a little smirk on it's face before turning it's head back to look at men.

The katana man walked up to the cat, who was now snarling and hissing at the man.

"Oh, kitty cat, you wanna play too?" he said in a baby voice. He crouched down to the cat.

When the man was down at eye level, the cat lunged at his throat. It didn't miss it's target and crunched down on his throat. The man dropped his katana and screamed for dear life. Tira and the other men watched, horrified as the cat bit harder and harder down on his throat. In no time, the man fell to the ground, gasping for air. After taking one last gasp, he became motionless and went on to the next life. The cat let go and backed away from the dead man, licking the blood on it's lips.

The three remaining men trembled, as well as Tira. The cat shreiked and the men ran away. Tira was alone with the cat who just murdered someone in cold blood.

The black cat turned around and looked into Tira's violet eyes. Tira returned the stare and looked into the pale blue eyes of the cat.

Then, the pain of hunger clenched at Tira's stomach and she looked down. She got light headed and her head met the cold rocky ground. She drifted off into a deep slumber she thought she would never wake up from.


	2. Two Souls Meet

**Disclaimer: I do not own the character of Soul Calibur.**

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It was noon when Tira began to reawaken. The sun was high in the blue sky. Not a single cloud was in the sky.

Tira was lying on a flat rock directly below the blazing sun, making the rock very hot. But the heat from the rock made Tira feel comfortable, even on the hard surface.

She slowly lifted up her left arm over her face. The wound on the arm stung, making her bite her lip. The wound was looking better than the day before but it still hurt.

Tira let her arm back down and closed her eyes. She began recounting the battle yesterday that caused the wound. Four men encountered her and tried to take her someplace with them She managed to hurt one of the men but, being weakened by hunger, she fled. She was able to get away but not for very long. All four men cornered her at a dead end. But just before she was about to lose, something strange came to her aid.

A little black cat came from the shadows and protected her. The men thought, at first, that this was a joke. But they learned it wasn't when the cat launched itself at one of them, latched itself on the man's neck with it's mouth and bit down on his throat till the man died. This act made the remaining men flee. Tira fell unconscious shortly after. In the end, she suffered three wounds; one on her left arm, one on her stomach and one on her leg.

Tira sighed.

'_That's preposterous…' _The Gloomy Side growled. '_How the hell could little cat frighten a group of thugs like that? And why would it save us?'_

"_Maybe because it felt sorry for us,' _The Jolly Side chimed in.

'_Humph! We could've easily defeated a couple thugs by our self.'_

Tap-Tap

Something landed on the rock and interrupted Tira's train of thought. She slowly sat up, ignoring the stinging sensation her stomch wound was giving off, to see who or what was there.

It was a black cat. Tira narrowed her eyes to see the cat's features. The cat was in good condition and its pelt shimmered in the sun's rays. The cat had unusually pale blue eyes and had a scar on the right eye. In its mouth was a plump rabbit that made Tira's mouth water. Then, she realized the features from the night before. It was the cat that saved her.

The cat walked over to Tira. Tira tried to crab-walk back but the wounds on both her arm and leg stung harshly with pain. Tira groaned and fell onto her back. She looked at the cat, eyes full of anger and fear. The cat dropped the rabbit and tilted its head to the side, ear perked forward.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" Tira growled. "Like you killed that guy last night?"

The cat picked up the rabbit with its mouth and walked over to Tira. It dropped the rabbit next to Tira and pushed it towards her with it's nose. Now, Tira was confused.

"Is this…for me?" Tira asked the cat.

The cat responded by nodding its head.

'_Wow…it understands human language,' _Gloomy Side said, not at all impressed by the creature's unusual ability.

'_But why did it bring us food?' _Jolly Side questioned. _'Surely it can't be all that evil.'_

"Um…Thanks," Tira said to the cat. She picked up the rabbit and took large bites of it. The meat was fresh and tasted surprisingly good.

The black cat sat still and watched Tira eat the rabbit. When she finished eating the meal, she gazed into the cat's pale blue eyes. Those eyes, according to Tira at least, were so mysterious and lovely.

"Why…did you save me and choose not to kill me?" Tira asked.

"_Because I had to…" _A voice answered.

Tira's eyes widened. The voice was lovely and sweet, automatically proving that whoever said that was a young woman or somewhere around there. Tira looked around. It was just her and the cat.

"Did…you just say something?" Tira asked the cat.

The cat blinked. "_Well…kind of. I'm using telepathy to speak with you. If I were to open my mouth and attempt to speak with you that way, all you would be hearing is "meow". I don't think you can understand the language of cats."_

Tira's jaw dropped. She could not believe what she was hearing. She was talking to a cat that could understand human language and could communicate with them by using telepathy.

'_That's insane!' _Gloomy Side said coldly. _'How can a stupid fur ball be able to do that?'_

The two sat quietly for a few moments. Then, Tira extended her hand out to the cat and smiled warmly.

"My name is Tira," She said. "What's yours?"

The cat muscles got tense and looked at Tira's hand, looked up at Tira, then back at her hand.

"_My name?" _The she-cat asked quietly.

"Yeah! You know, the thing people call you."

The cat hesitated. Tira face went from happy to dismay. Then, the cat placed her paw slowly into Tira's hand.

"_Anne Marie," _The cat said. _"My name is Anne Marie."_

Tira smile returned and shook the Anne Marie's paw. "That wasn't that bad, was it?"

"_I guess it wasn't," _Anne Marie chuckled nervously as she took her paw back.

A group of birds flew out of the trees, startling the she-cat. Her back arched and her tail began to poof up. Tira tilted her head, confused by the cat's reaction to a couple of birds. When her fur began to settle, Anne Marie walked over to the edge of the rock.

"What are you doing?" Tira asked.

"_I placed a mixture of herbs on your wounds," _Anne Marie informed, switching the topic. _"It will not get infected and it will heal a lot quicker than it would unaided. But it will sting every time you move so try to be still."_

"That's great and all…but what are you doing?"

Anne Marie turned around and looked at Tira.

"Honestly…I don't know what I am doing," Anne Marie admitted.

"I don't what I am doing either. Hm…" Tira placed a finger on her chin. Then, she snapped her fingers and looked at Anne Marie, eyes shining with excitement. "Maybe we can travel together!"

Anne Marie's eyes widened at the girl's suggestion. For some odd reason, it felt like a dagger to the black cat's heart in a way.

"_I'm sorry…but I must refuse_," Anne Marie answered.

"Why not?" Tira asked.

"_Because…I don't know. I just do not want a companion with me."_

Tira suddenly lunged at Anne Marie with her arms wide open. The wounds stung during the movement. She wrapped her arms around the cat and brought her close to her body. The cat did not struggle, just remained still in Tira's arms. Anne Marie felt tears drip onto her pelt.

"Please…" Tira pleaded. "I do not want to be alone. After what you did for me yesterday, I owe my life to you."

Anne Marie remained still. Tira couldn't see the cat's face but Anne Marie felt touched by Tira's request. The cat's eyes showed sympathy for the girl.

Tira heard a purring noise and stopped crying. She looked at Anne Marie and found that she was making the noise.

"_If it truly means that much to you…then you may accompany me."_

Tira felt her heart flutter after she heard Anne Marie's answer. She hugged Anne Marie tighter. The she-cat let out a little "mrrow".

"I promise, whatever you want me to do, even if I don't like the idea, I will go through with it," Tira said quietly to the cat. "That's my promise to you."

Anne Marie's eyes widened when she heard that. Tira stopped embracing the cat. Anne Marie backed away and licked down her chest fur. Tira crawled over to her ring blade and got up, swinging the blade onto her shoulder.

"Come on!" Tira said, eager to begin the journey. "Let's get going!"

Anne Marie cocked her head. _"But what about your wounds?"_

"I'll be okay," Tira said with a smile. "A little pain won't hurt anyone. But let's get going! We're losing daylight!"

Anne Marie purred with amusement and her eyes glimmered with both joy and excitement. _'This girl will be a paw full,'_ She said to herself. _'But I like her attitude.'_

"_Alright…alright," _Anne Marie said. Her ears perked forward_. "Let's get going then, if you are so eager."_

Tira was grinning from ear to ear. Anne Marie trotted over to the edge of the flat rock with Tira following. When they were at the edge, Tira looked over the edge. She estimated that they were at least ten feet from the ground. This brought up the excellent question of how such a little cat was able to bring her up to the top of the rock. But Tira didn't want to be a nuisance already and didn't ask.

"You don't have to jump down," Anne Marie advised. "There are rocks that can get you down. All you have to do is balance yourself on each rock and climb down."

Tira nodded. Listening to the she-cat's advice, she turned herself around and placed one foot on a rock that was near the rock the two were standing on. She was able to maintain her balance and placed her other foot on a different rock, near the rock she was already on. Tira slowly descended till she reached the ground. She looked up at Anne Marie, who was still at the top.

"Aren't you coming down?" Tira hollered up at the cat.

Anne Marie jumped from rock to rock, gracefully. Tira was amazed at how accurate the she-cat's leaps and landings from rock to rock were. When Anne Marie landed on the ground, she gave her front paws a quick lick each. Them trotted into the woods.

Tira waited before following the she-cat. She looked at the surroundings and took them in. Then, something caught her eyes. On the hard rock ground she was standing on, she saw a fairly large blood stain with a paw print in it. She remembered what happened there. That was where Anne Marie killed the man that attacked Tira.

'_The cat can not be trusted…' _The Gloomy Side growled. _'She will kill you when she gets the chance.'_

The Gloomy Side's words echoed in Tira's ears. Tira did not want and tried not to listen to her angry emotion's words. She tried blocking them out, but they kept echoing.

'_Tira! Come on!' _Anne Marie called out.

This stopped the Gloomy Side's words. Tira shook her head and smiled. Her eyes full excitement.

"I'm coming!" Tira yelled.

She ran into the woods. Now…the true journey begins….


	3. Hunting Lesson

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**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Soul Calibur. Namco does.**

* * *

_"Hunting prey is more than just attacking. You need to be wait for the right moment to strike and strike quickly_," Anne Marie explained.

Tira nodded her head. She began her journey with the black she-cat two days ago. So far, Anne Marie taught her how to hunt for food and what is best to eat in this forest. The wounds on Tira were healing rapidly and didn't seem to bug her as much anymore.

"_I'll show you_," Anne Marie whispered.

She walked behind a rock, her paw steps soft and quiet as she moved. Once behind the rock, she stopped and crouched low to the ground. Tira watched from behind a near by tree not far from where Anne Marie was.

Anne Marie closed her eyes. She lifted her head up and sniffed the air. She tilted her head back down and her ears perked forward.

Then, she darted frontward and pounced on something Tira couldn't see. Anne Marie trotted over to Tira with the body of a mouse in her jaws. The rodent was hanging limply in the she-cat's mouth.

"Wow!" Tira exclaimed. "You make it look easy!'

Anne Marie dropped the kill onto the ground.

"_Since you are bigger than me, you can hunt things such as deer or elk_." Anne Marie sat with her tail over her front paws. "_But do not try hunting wolves, badgers or bears. Those things can kill you."  
_  
Tira rolled her eyes. "I know that already."

"_I was just saying_," the she-cat purred. "_Okay…now I want you to try. Try something small for now, like a rabbit or somethi_ng."

"Ah man…I wanted to try something bigger than a dumb ol' rabbit," Tira complained.

_"This is practice, young _one," Anne Marie reminded. "_Rabbits are quick so you must be ready to strike as soon as you can."_

"Alright! I get it."

Tira crouched down and crawled over to the rock Anne Marie hid behind before. Anne Marie stayed where she was at and observed Tira.

The girl, with her ring blade in hand, sat up onto her knees. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest. A gentle breeze blew and ruffled Tira's hair a little bit. Then her focus paid off and she heard the sound of footsteps, very light footsteps. She opened her eyes and saw a white rabbit with one black ear in front of her. The rabbit had it's back to her. Tira quietly got closer to the animal. It didn't even notice her presence. The girl used her blade and slashed the rabbit's back. The rabbit was alive, but paralyzed. Anne Marie ran towards the paralyzed critter and bit down on its neck. The rabbit fell to the ground and lay dead on the forest floor.

"Hey! I wanted to finish it off!" Tira whined.

Anne Marie let go of the rabbit and looked at Tira with her pale blue eyes.

_"You did pretty good. Your stalking and focus abilities are outstanding. But when it comes to making a clean kill, you are not good there."_

Tira cocked he head. "Clean kill? What's that?"

Anne Marie chuckled. "_It's when you kill a target with an attack that gives off little or hardly any blood. When you are hunting you don't want a lot of blood noticeable. Other predators and scavengers could sniff it out and follow us. Then we have a problem."_

She pointed to a blood stain on the grass with her tail. The blood spot was fairly large and looked fresh.

"_That's the blood from the rabbit. One slice from that weapon of yours can cause a lot of damage."_

Tira looked down at the ground, eyes clouding with disappointment. The black she-cat walked over to the girl and rubbed her head on Tira's leg.

"_Cheer up_," Anne Marie reassured. "_You did good for your first time. You can try again. This time, try to make that your weapon just barely slit the preys throat or their spinal cord. Then, it will either die of paralysis or loss of blood and oxygen."_

Tira nodded and went back to the back of the rock. Anne Marie moved to a near by tree and sat behind it, poking her head out a little so she could see Tira. Tira was on her knees. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of nature.

When Tira heard light foot steps, she opened her eyes and saw a brown rabbit, six feet away, eating some grass. She waited till the rabbit turned its back to her. She crawled over to the rabbit without making a single noise. Tira got her weapon ready. The rabbit turned around. Tira quickly slashed the rabbit's throat. The rabbit shrieked and fell to the ground. It took one last gasp for air before it laid lifelessly.

Tira looked at Anne Marie and had a smile on her face.

"_Nice kill_!" Anne Marie said as she walked over to Tira. Her pale blue eyes sparkled with joy. "_You hunted very nicely today. Let us get the kill and eat. I'm starving."_

Tira nodded and got the two rabbits. Anne Marie took the mouse that she caught earlier. The two walked into the forest until they saw a nice clearing. The sun beginning to set.

The two spilt the kill evenly. Tira had one of the rabbits, Anne Marie had the mouse and they each had half of the other rabbit.

After the meal, Anne Marie cleaned her paws. Tira was watching the sun set in the sky.

_"So..."_ Anne Marie said snapping Tira out of her daze. "_What have you done with your life so f_ar?"

Tira looked at the she-cat, completely caught off guard by her question. Anne Marie was laying on her stomach, her paws slightly in front of her chest. Her pale blue eyes gazing intently at Tira. Tira took a deep breath and began telling her story.

"Ever since I was a child, I have been an assassin,"Tira said looking into Anne Marie's eyes.

Anne Marie eyes widened with curiosity and surprise. "_An assassin, eh?"_

Tira nodded. "You see, I was with an underground association known as the "Birds of Passage". I was taught how to use my weapon and killed countless people."

Tira paused for a second. "Then...the evil seed rained down and the leader went insane. He died and I was free."

"_Were you happy when you found that o_ut?" Anne Marie asked.

Tira shook her head. "I couldn't adjust to being a normal person. I killed the family that took me in. I just couldn't give up killing."

Anne Marie looked deeper into the girl's violet eyes. "_Then what_?"

"I heard about the Azure Knight, Nightmare. I was overjoyed when I heard about him. I offered myself to him and the evil sword. He accepted."

_"Isn't he the guy you ran away from? Why did you escape_?"

Tira waited a moment. She looked down at the ground.

"I don't know. I just...it was like something told me to run away."

Anne Marie felt sympathy for the girl. _'She's been through so much...kind of like me_.' She thought to herself. _'Maybe we're not so diffe_rent.'

Tira looked up at Anne Marie, her violet eyes sparkling.

"Tell me. What did you do?" Tira said, excited to learn about Anne Marie's past.

"_What_?"

"You know...what happened to you when you were a kitten. Like for example, you can tell me how you got that scar on your right eye."

Anne Marie's ears went back and her eyes filled up with a mixture of sadness and anger. Tira was confused by the she-cat's body language.

"_I...do not wish to say_," Anne Marie said quietly. "_My life...is just...very complex."_

Tira looked disappointed. _'Ah man! I wanted to hear what happened to her.'_

Then, the Gloomy Side's words flashed back and echoed in her ears. _'The cat can not be trusted...'_

A breeze blew and Anne Marie's ears perked forward. She sniffed the air and stood up.

"What is it?" Tira asked.

"_I smell a town near by_," Anne Marie answered. "_It will probably have an inn so we won't have to sleep on the hard ground_."

Tira cocked her head. "How do you know?"

"_The wind carried the scent of a town_," Anne Marie replied.

"How far is it?"

"_Maybe only a quarter mile. But we need to hurry. Its almost night fall_."

Tira nodded and stood up. She picked up her ring blade, which was laying right next to her, and set it on her shoulder.

Anne Marie looked at Tira. The girl nodded at the she-cat. The she-cat nodded back. Then, she-cat looked forward and darted off into the direction of the smell. Tira ran behind Anne Marie until the two reached the town Anne Marie scented.


End file.
